JUDGMENT: Heard the learned counsel for the parties and with their consent this writ application is being disposed of at this stage itself. The Award dated 27.06.2002 passed by the Labour Court at Dhanbad, in Reference Case No. 9 of 1996 has been challenged in this writ application by the petitioner i.e. the Management of Coal Board Employees Co-operative Credit Society Limited. The terms of reference for adjudication before the Labour Court was as under: “Whether the termination of services of Shri Baldeo Pandey, Inspector, Dhanbad, Coal Board Employees Co-operative Credit Society Limited, Dhanbad, was proper? If not what relief he was entitled to?” The Labour Court by the impugned Award held that the workman is entitled to honourarium and its benefits at the rates fixed by the management. The case of the petitioner in short is that the petitioner is a registered Co-operative Society under the Bihar and Orissa Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 and being a registered co-operative society the petitioner has to maintain all the records/ documents relating to employment of its employee. Managing Committee of the petitioner Society has the power under the Co-operative Societies Act and Rules to appoint, promote, transfer, punish, suspend, remove or dismiss any of its paid employee. Selection of the candidate for appointment was to be made by the Committee constituted at the District level and the State level. The District level Committee is headed by the Deputy Commissioner/ District Magistrate of the District and the State level Committee is headed by the Member Board of Revenue. The respondent no.2 i.e. the concerned workman was neither selected by the Committee nor was appointed by the Managing Committee of the petitioner. One Honorary Secretary, namely, Sri S.N. Trivedi started illegally giving some honorary work to respondent no.2 without any resolution or decision of the Managing Committee of the petitioner and he issued at his own a letter dated 3.11.1988 appointing the respondent no.2 on honorary basis as Honorary Inspector, but subsequently, the said Honorary Secretary relieved the respondent no.2 from his responsibility with effect from 5.6.1992, but on the direction of Assistant Registrar later on the respondent no.2 again resumed his honorary work and as per the direction of the Joint Registrar, North Chhotanagpur Division, Cooperative Societies, Hazaribagh. A sum of Rs. 1000/-per month as consolidated amount was being paid to the respondent no.2. A sum of Rs. 1000/-per month as consolidated amount was being paid to the respondent no.2. However, the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Society, Dhanbad subsequently cancelled the appointment of the respondent no.2 as it was found that he was not duly appointed by the Managing Committee of the petitioner. The Joint Registrar, North Chhotanagpur Division, Co-operative Society, Hazaaribagh, approved the order of the Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Society, Dhanbad relieving the respondent no.2 from his honorary work. The respondent no.2 raised a dispute making out a case that he was terminated from service. The said dispute was referred to the Labour Court for adjudication and the Labour Court by the impugned Award has held that the termination of service of the concerned workman was not proper and as the workman had been appointed on honorary basis, he is entitled to honorarium and its benefits at the rates fixed by the management. According to the petitioner the respondent no.2 was never on the roll of the Society, since he was appointed illegally by the Honorary Secretary and not by the Managing Committee of the petitioner and, therefore, he was relieved from his responsibility of honorary inspector, which was approved by the Assistant Registrar as well as the Joint Registrar. Since the concerned workman was not an employee of the Co-operative Society and therefore it was not a case of termination from service. Mr. Niranjan Singh, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that under section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 modes and method for recruitment of personnel has been prescribed by the Co-operative Society and the Government of Bihar also issued notification in that regard on 9.2.1989. It is only the Selection Committee constituted under the Co-operative Societies Act is empowered to make appointment after following the procedure and method for recruitment envisaged under section 66B of the Bihar Cooperative Societies Act, whereas in the present case admittedly the appointment of the respondent no.2 was not made by any Selection Committee in terms of section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act and, therefore, the appointment of respondent no.2 i.e. the concerned workman was illegal and void ab-initio. On the other hand Mr. On the other hand Mr. Abhay Kumar Mishra, learned counsel appearing for the respondent no.2 i.e. concerned workman submitted that the procedure and method of recruitment prescribed under section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 applies only in the case of regular appointment, whereas the respondent no.2 was appointed on honorary basis and, therefore, the appointment of respondent no.2 on honorary basis could not have been terminated or cancelled and, as such, the Labour Court has rightly passed the Award in favour of the concerned workman. The point in issue is as to whether any appointment of an employee in the Co-operative Society could have been made without following the procedure and method of recruitment prescribed under section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935. In order to answer this question, it is relevant to notice the provision of section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 along with the notification issued by the Government of Bihar on 9.2.1989, which are reproduced herein below: “66B. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or the rules and byelaws made there under, the State Government may, from time to time, by special or general order, determine the nature of posts to be created and the mode of recruitment of personnel by Co-operative Societies and prescribe among other things- (1) the qualifications, age and experience, (2) the pay scale and other emoluments, (3) the method of recruitment, (4) the conditions of service, and (5) the disciplinary procedure to be followed. 2. Any appointment made in contravention of the order of the State Government under sub-section (1) shall be void as if no such appointment ever existed and salary and other allowances paid if any, shall be recoverable under Section 40. GOVERNMENT OF BIHAR CO-OPERATION DEPARTMENT Notification No. 14/3 Legal (Amend)-07/89/526 dated 9.2.1989. -In exercise of the powers conferred upon the State Government under Section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 the following mode and method of recruitment is prescribed for recruitment of Personnel by the Cooperation Societies: 1. There shall be a Selection Authority for the recruitment of all grades of employees of all the State Level Cooperative Societies. 2. -In exercise of the powers conferred upon the State Government under Section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 the following mode and method of recruitment is prescribed for recruitment of Personnel by the Cooperation Societies: 1. There shall be a Selection Authority for the recruitment of all grades of employees of all the State Level Cooperative Societies. 2. The Selection Authority shall consist of the following: - (a) Member, Board of Revenue -As Chairman (b) Chairman of the concerned State Level Co-operative Societies-As Member (c) One representative of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be nominated by the Secretary, Cooperative-As Member (d) Nominee of NABARD, Patna-As Member (d) Managing Director of the concerned State Level Cooperative Society-As Member-Secretary 3 (i) The Selection Authority shall prepare a penal of persons to be appointed in the different grades of the State-level Co-operative Societies. (ii) Notwithstanding anything contained in the bye-laws of any State-Level Co-operative Society or rules made thereunder, no appointment in any grade from outside the penal shall be valid. 4. The Member-Secretary shall provide the necessary secretariat assistance to the Selection Authority. 5. There shall be a Selection Authority at the District level for appointment of all grades of employees in the District Level Cooperative Societies. 6. The District Level Selection Authority shall consist of the following:- (a) Collector/Deputy Commissioner-As Chairman (b) Chairman/Honorary Secretary of the Concerned District Level Co-operative Society-As Member (c) One representative of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be nominated by the Collector/Deputy Commissioner of the District -As Member (d) Managing Director/Executive Officer of the District Level Co-operative Society. -As Member-Secretary 7. (i) The Selection Authority constituted for the District Level Cooperative Societies shall prepare a panel of person to be appointed in the different grades of the District Level Co-operative Societies. (ii) Notwithstanding anything contained in the bye-laws of the District Level Co-operative Society or rules made thereunder, no appointment in any grade from outside the panel shall be valid. 8. The Member Secretary shall provide the necessary secretariat assistance to the Section Authority constituted at the District Level Co-operative Society. 9. The rules framed by the State Government for the recruitment of various grades of Government employees and as amended from time to time, shall apply mutates-mutandis to the preparation of panels by the Selection Authorities. 10. 8. The Member Secretary shall provide the necessary secretariat assistance to the Section Authority constituted at the District Level Co-operative Society. 9. The rules framed by the State Government for the recruitment of various grades of Government employees and as amended from time to time, shall apply mutates-mutandis to the preparation of panels by the Selection Authorities. 10. The rules relating to as framed by the State Government and as amended from time to time, shall mutates-mutandis apply to the preparation of panels by the Selection Authorities? 11. The State Level Co-operative Society shall mean a registered co-operative society functioning at the State Level. 12. The District Level co-operative Society shall mean a registered co-operative society functioning at the District Level. 13. The term ‘Registered Society’ shall mean a registered society as defined by section 2(b) of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935. 14. This order comes into force with immediate effect”. This very question came for consideration before a Division Bench of the Patna High Court in the case of Teja Prasad & others Vs. The State of Bihar & others, reported in 1993(2) PLJR page 568 and the Division Bench of the Patna High Court held that the appointment of any kind including of daily wage basis can not be made without following the procedure prescribed under section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935. In the present case also there is no dispute of the fact that respondent no.2 was appointed without following the procedure and method of recruitment as envisaged under section 66B of the Bihar Cooperative Societies Act, 1935. Therefore, following the Division Bench decision of the Patna High Court in the case of Teja Prasad & others Vrs. the State of Bihar & others (supra), I hold that the appointment, if any, of the respondent no.2 as honourary Inspector on honourary basis was itself illegal and invalid in law, since it was not made in terms of section 66B of the Bihar Co-operative Societies Act, 1935.Accordingly, I hold that the Presiding officer, Labour Court has committed serious error in law in passing the impugned Award in favour of respondent no.2 holding that the termination of services of the concerned workman was not proper and as he had been appointed on honourary basis he is entitled to honourarium and its benefits at the rates fixed by the management. Accordingly, this writ application is allowed. Accordingly, this writ application is allowed. The impugned Award dated 27.6.2002 passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court at Dhanbad, in Reference Case No. 9 of 1996 is hereby quashed. However, there will be no order as to the costs.